Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Thatcher: First Female Prime Minister of UK - Part 4

As she sought to change the affairs of his country domestically,
she also made sure that Britain would also play key roles in the international
issues, one of which was an issue that would bring the downfall of the Iron
Lady. When Thatcher was prime minister, the Cold War was in its last stage.
Also the issue of European integration was being widely discussed. The issue of
European integration was so widely spoken that it caused a split within
Thatcher’s Conservative Party. The split caused a rebellion that would cause
the end of the Thatcher era.

In 1985, Mikhail
Gorbachev became the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. His
rise became a turning point in the Cold War that had being raging for more
almost 40 years. Margaret Thatcher, a major player in the Cold War, visited
Moscow in 1987. The end of the meeting of the two leaders resulted to both
countries disagreeing to German Unification. They discussed about nuclear
disarmament. Lastly, Thatcher concluded at the end of the meeting is that
Mikhail Gorbachev was the man that the west can do business with. Surely
enough, by 1990, the Cold War ended with the USSR collapsing and the free world
and capitalism standing tall.

In the continental front, the matters were much complicated. In
1984 she negotiated for Britain to receive rebates from its contribution to the
European community fund. She also showed publicly and supported widely the
concept of a European single market which will benefit Britain. But one thing
she would not stand for was the issue of European Exchange Rate Mechanism (the
precursor of the Euro) and giving of more political concessions to Brussels.
Thatcher stand firmly on her beliefs, but some in her cabinet wanted a closer
integration with Europe. One of those cabinet members who supported closer
integration was her deputy Prime Minister, Geoffrey Howe.

In November 1, 1990, Howe resigned from the cabinet of Thatcher
and sparked a rebellion. On his resignation speech in the House of Common, he
implicitly encouraged for someone to challenge Thatcher for the leadership. The
speech was a shock to the parliament and to Thatcher. Reaction was swift,
Michael Heseltine challenged Thatcher for the leadership of the party thus
Prime Minister. Rather than campaigning for her victory, Thatcher decided to
join a summit in France. While the summit was ongoing the result of the ballot
came in. The result was that Thatcher won the vote but wasn't able to
get the needed majority to avoid a second ballot.

Thatcher hastily
returned to London to decide whether to continue to fight. She decided to
consult, one by one, her cabinet members. Other factors were being considered.
One was that the party will not win another election with Thatcher as their
leader after an unpopular poll tax that she launched. The poll tax was so
unpopular for the common people because it made an aristocrat and a commoner to
pay a same amount of tax. The cabinet advised Thatcher to withdraw from the
battle. Thatcher then did just that. In November 28, 1990, Margaret Thatcher
resigned as Prime Minister, leaving John Major, her chancellor, as Prime
Minister.

Margaret Thatcher left a
different Britain from that when she entered Downing Street. His measures saved
Britain from total collapse. She destroyed the unions that strangle the
economy. Her privatization returned Britain to capitalism. Her economic
policies would create what is now known as Thatcherism. But she became over
confident in her abilities and made her too domineering for her companions.
Also, her mismanagement about the issue of European issue caused her position. In
April 8, 2013, Margaret Thatcher died due to a stroke. She left a nation
divided in opinion about her legacy as Prime Minister. Many loathed her but
there are many who admired her.